London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025

Italian couple find endangered bear on their balcony

Italian couple find endangered bear on their balcony

A couple in central Italy who thought they were being burgled were instead shocked to find an endangered brown bear on their balcony.

Annalisa Castagna and her husband, Claudio Paravano, were alarmed by a noise outside their property and went to investigate, only to find themselves face to face with a Marsican brown bear, Castagna recalled in a Facebook post published Sunday.

They had "a close encounter with the bear. We were face to face, less than a meter away," she wrote. "I was able to count all the teeth he had in his mouth plus the red tongue."

Castagna said she "screamed in the bear's face" and the animal then tried to reach her with its paw.

A few days before the encounter on the balcony, a Marsican bear was spotted bathing in a fountain in a nearby village.


The encounter happened at the couple's home in the village of Pescosolido, home to fewer than 1,500 people, on the edges of the Abruzzo National Park in central Italy.

The park is home to around 60 Marsican bears, which are smaller than those found in the Alps, "but they can still reach 200 kilos," said town mayor Donato Bellisario.

"Before going into hibernation, the bears are in a period of hyperphagia (extreme hunger), they need to store energy for the winter," Bellisario told CNN on Wednesday. "We often see them in the village searching for fruit, bees' hives, but they never attacked men."

Bellisario said he and a few guards from the national park had inspected the couple's balcony to determine what had attracted the bear, but they couldn't tell.

While Castagna escaped unscathed from the encounter, Paravano "was forced to jump over the fence," according to the Facebook post. He fell three meters (10 feet) and suffered a fractured pelvis, said Bellisario, and faces a couple of months of recovery.

Only a few days before that incident, a Marsican bear was spotted taking an evening bath in the fountain of a nearby village, San Donato Val Di Comino.

"The bear has arrived in the village and takes a bath in the fountain of the public garden," reads the caption of a photo posted on the village's Facebook page.

The photo was taken by Vania Tramontozzi, whose husband runs a bar in the central square of the village.

"The bear's arrival was not initially noticed, it was really quiet," she told CNN. "I assure you that seeing him so calm and relaxed inside the fountain, at about 7.45 pm, when people are still around, was a rare and exciting thing."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
×